Closure for retorts.



(No Model.)

No. 710,476. l 'Patented uct. |902. J. n. K. LETs'oN & F. w. ausm-ze.

CLSUBE FR BETBTS.

Application mea Mae 5, 1902.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2,.

No..7l0,476. Patented Oct. 7, |902.

J. M. K. LETSON F. W. BURPEE.

CLUSUBE FOR BETOHTS.

(Application med nay 5, 1902.)

(No Model.) 3 She'ets-Sheet 3.

ummm

Unirse STATS PATENT erica.

JAMES M. K. LETSON AND FRANK lV. BURPEE, OF VANCOUVER, CANADA.

CLOSURE FOR RTORTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 710,476, dated October '7, 1902.

Application led May 5.1902. Serial No. 105.965. (No model.)

'[0 aM tlf/2,0m, t may concern.-

Be it known that we, JAMES M. K. LETSON and FRANK YV. BURPEE, citizens of the Dominion of Canada, residing at Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia and Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Closures for Retorts, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to means for closingr the open ends of retorts or chambers adapted to hold steam under pressure and to receive any substance or material which is to be cooked orsoftened or subjected to the action of steam for any other purpose. The admission of such substances to the retort necessitates that one end shall be left open, and forsuch opening a steam-tight closure is required.

Our improvements relate to a type of closure for retorts in which internal steam-pressn re tends to hold the closure to its seat-such, for instance, as is illustrated in Letters Patent of the United States granted August 2, 1808, to David Ross, in which the door is seated through a slot in the top of the retort and is held in grooves or rabbets. The internal steam-pressure which tends to force the door outwardly tends also to tighten the joint, and as such joint is with the solid inaterial of the retort there is no undue strain on the fastenings, as in the class of doors first referred to. Our invention, however, contains material improvements upon the construction shown in said patent, and we have fully hereinafter described such improvements and illustrated them in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly broken away, of the retort with door open. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly broken'away, of the retort with door closed. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view showing the clamping devices for the cap-piece and adjacent parts of the door and its locking mechanism. Fig.

4E is a section on line x x of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the door. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the same.

The retort 1 is preferably a cylindrical steel shell secured at the open front to the U-shaped head 2, made, preferably, of iron and which has a circular opening through which the contents of the retort are admitted. Trucks are shown within the retort for holding the substances to be treated with steam. rlhe top of the head is preferably flat and provided with a slot of the proper dimensions to permit the door 3 to enter from above and rest in the groove formed between the solid rims or flanges 5 and form and is provided on its face with the circular packing 6, which is compressed against the continuous head-iiange 5. On its rear face and close to its edge are a number of inclined lugs or wedges 7. When the door is pressed forward against the flange 5, a steamtight joint is produced which internal steampressure renders still more effective. The mechanical pressure by which the door is properly seated is applied by the adjustable ring 8, seated and movable in the groove of the head, next to the fiange 5a. This ring has inclined lugs il opposing those on the door. The edge of the ring is toothed, as shown at 10, to provide a gear of sufcient extent for the required range of adjustment, land with this gear engages the pinion 11, whose shaft 12 extends through the side of the retort-head and is furnished with a hand-wheel 13. By this very simple arrangement and by a single operation the ring can be turned and the door after being lowered into place forced forward against the inclosing flange by the opposing` wedges. The ring and its seat are provided with the steps 14 14 15 in order to limit its movement and prevent the disengagement of the gear.

The circular door is provided with upwardly-extending plates or wings 17, to which is loosely jointed a cap-piece 1S, the connection being made by means of ears 19 on the cap and bolts 20, which pass loosely through holes in the wings. This loose connection enables the door to be moved in the groove independently of its cap and also compels the bottom of the cap to seat itself properly on the top of the head 2, which is provided with a packing-strip 2l, surrounding its slot.

The cap is forced down and held steamtight on the head by the clamps illustrated in Figs. 3 and 7. Near each end of the cap are formed ears 22, in which is fitted a movable pin 23. Both extremities of this pin are The door is of circular IOO . moved upwardly by the eccentrics, so as to take under the lugs and so draw the cap-piece down tightly upon the head and its packing.

` Each hook is positively disengaged by turning the handle in the opposite direction and causing a projection 27 to strike such hook as the eccentric is released.

The door and its cap are connncted to suspension devices for raising and lowering. IVe have shown an overhead shaft 28, having ropes orv cables 29, provided with counterweights and connected to eyebolts on the cap, the shaft being operated by the handrope 30.

The advantages of our device in general are duc to the effective joints produced, aided by the internal steam-pressure; but there are many special advantages arising from the simplicity and effectiveness of the mechanical devices employed, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

We do not limit ourselvesto the exact construction herein described, and shown in the drawings, as we desire to avail ourselves of such modifications and equivalents as fall properly within the spirit of our invention.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a retort, a slotted head having an internal groove, a door movable through the slot in said head, means located within the said internal groove for bearing on said door and forcing it against a wall of said groove, and an exterior handle connected to said operating means.

2. A retort-head having an internal circular groove, a door adapted when closed to enter said groove, a pressure device movable in the circular groove and bearing on the door, and external means for moving said pressure device in the groove and forcing the door against a wall of the groove.

3. In a retort, a slotted head having an internal circular groove,a door movable through the slot in said head, a ring seated in said groove adjacent to the door when closed, projections on the door and ring forming contact-surfaces, and means operable from the outside for turning said ring, and thereby forcing the said surfaces into contact andthe door against a wall of said groove.

4. In a retort, a slotted head having` an internal circulargro0ve,a door movable through the slotin said head, and adapted to be seated in said groove, a ring adjustable in said groove adjacent to the closed door and having a section of gear-teeth, an operating-shaft projecting through the head and carrying a pinion, and opposing inclines on said door and said ring.

5. In a retort, an internally-grooved head having a slot for the passage of a door, a door movable in said slot, a ring seated in the groove, opposing inclines on the door and ring, an arc-rack on the ring, a pinion engaging therewith and having an external operating-handle, and stops on the head and ring to limit the motion of the latter relatively to the extent of said rack.

6. In a retort, a slotted head having a curvilinear grooved bottom and a horizontal top, in combination with a door, a cap-piece loosely connected thereto, and adapted to be seated on said top, and clamps for locking said cap-piece to its seat.

7. In a retort, a slotted and internallygrooved head having an upper seat, a door adapted to be seated in said groove, and having a cap-piece for closing the slot in the head, lugs on the head, pins journaled in the cappiece and formed with eccentric ends, and hooks loose on said eccentric ends, adapted to take beneath said lugs.

8. In a retort, a slotted and internallygrooved head having an upper seat, a door adapted to be seated in said groove and having a cap-piece for closing the head-slot, pins journaled in the cappiece having eccentric ends, and operating-handles, hooks loose on said eccentric ends and taking beneath said lugs when the handles are turned in one direction, and projections on the handles for throwing off the hooks when the handles are turned in the opposite direct-ion and the eccentrics are released.

In testimony whereof we have affixed our signatures, in presence of two witnesses, this 14th day ot' April, 1902.

JAMES M. K. LETSON. FRANK XV. BURPEE.

Witnesses:

ARCHIBALD DUNToN TAYLOR, W. H. T. GAHAN. 

